NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio will be supporting Math and Science Days at Cedar Point Amusement Park on May 13, 2015 with educational activities such as poster displays and hands-on demonstrations. Exhibits will cover the area of Microgravity, Science Missions, Aeronautics, In-Space Propulsion and Orion.

Poster files to download:

Many educators have requested the PDF versions of some popular posters which have been displayed at the amusement parks. Draft versions of these posters are now available here.

Acceleration Match Game

This is a game which involves
matching acceleration traces measured on amusement park
rides with a description of possible rides. Two versions
of this popular poster are available based on measurements
taken at a park near NASA Glenn in Cleveland, Ohio. [Revised:
5/17/2011]

The Acceleration Match Game Poster [1 MB
file] is based on rides at the Cedar Point Amusement
Park in Sandusky, Ohio. The associated Student
Worksheet can be printed
for students to use in the park. The Answer
Key may be obtained by educators via e-mail
request from your school account.

The Acceleration Match Game Poster [0.7 MB
file] is based on rides at the Kings Island Amusement
Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The associated Student
Worksheet can be printed for students to use in the
park. The Answer Key may be obtained by educators
via e-mail
request from your school account.

NASA Drop Tower Comparison Poster

This poster [144 KB file] compares the height
of the microgravity drop towers at NASA Glenn Research Center
with the heights of popular rides at the Cedar Point amusement
park.[Revised:
3/12/2008]

Take a look at the 2.2
Second Drop Tower in which experiments
fall 24 meters. The drop tower, provides 2.2 seconds
of microgravity.

Take a look at the Zero-Gravity
Research Facility in
which experiments fall 132 meters for 5 seconds of
microgravity. This is NASA's premier facility for conducting
ground based microgravity research and is the largest
facility of its kind in the United States. It has been
operational since 1966.

NASA Roller Coaster in the Sky Poster

This poster compares roller coasters with NASA's KC-135 microgravity research aircraft. This aircraft flies successive parabolic maneuvers to give 15 seconds of microgravity conditions to researchers on-board. These microgravity intervals are interspersed with pull-outs at about 2-g's. Riders can experience similar feelings of alternating light-weight and heavy-weight on roller coaster hills.

Microgravity Demonstrator
description files to download:

We use two simple devices to demonstrate
microgravity concepts on the midway during Physics Day.
With these how-to guides, it is possible to construct these
devices for your own use. A description of how they work
is also included.

Cleveland, Ohio-area amusement park home pages

Many other amusement parks also sponsor
formal Physics Days so it is worthwhile to check with a
local park. It is also possible for a school or individual
educator to plan their own physics day at a local park
using available guides and books on the subject.